Jamison Square
16 Reviews for Jamison Square
On 90 something or even 100 degrees days, this is the place to be. Soak your feet in the water from the mini fountains. Many benches to sit on and there are many places to get your fix on iced coffee, iced tea, ice cream, and snacks around this square.
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The five stars are all for the fun my baby nieces had here!
My gals had so much fun during the ridiculously hot weekend! There were splashing and running and spinning and talking to strange men... wait, that was not so nice!
Anyway, they had a blast...
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Unless followed by "ing lot..." I thought that the mythical "Urban Park" was a preposterous fantasy.
It's not. Freddy Olmsted was right, and the proof is in the adorable pudd'ns running around all nakey like on what feels like the first day of summer.
Waterguns and spiderman sandals met picnic blankets and library books. Free wi-fi for those of us who want to remain connected, and a large water fountain for those who do not. The only time marker is the street car that passes silently every 15 minutes.
We do live in a beautiful city, don't we?
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I love Jamison Square. I love Fenouil, really like Sip n' Kranz, and that Starbucks on Lovejoy is one of my favs. But the park is sooo pretty. I love that on a sunny day you can spy hot Pearl moms and their spawn, hipsters afraid of the sun under the shade, and half naked Portlanders of various shapes and sizes. It's such a Portland hang out. Also, last time I was there I saw a Dad in a suit try 3 times to get his kid to stop taking his suit off and running into the water naked. He finally shrugged his shoulders and let the kid run around sans clothing. Pretty funny. So Portland! Oh, one downside: dogs and small children love to use the fountain as a toilet. I wouldn't actually go in the water, I'll just admire it.
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I saw this park on a sunny Saturday and it was clearly one of the focal points of the Pearl District. Very cool tidal fountain with recirculating water that spills over the rocks and forms a shallow pool then drains. It was entertaining a ton of tots while others relaxed in the large grassy areas, had a picnic with food from one of the local eateries or worked on their laptops accessing free wi-fi. Wi-fi at a park - how very Portland!
The park is relatively new, so when the trees mature a little bit more they will provide some much needed shade. As one of those afflicted with the classic English complexion, I always look for trees so I can lay down and read a book in the shade of its glorious branches (one of my favorite things in life) while the kids frolic nearby.
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If you don't like kids, this is not the place for you. If you like kids, or happen to own one or two, this is the place to be. The coolest place in Portland!
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In one of my reviews I make reference to "Birth Control Park".
This is it. This block of hell is responsible for turning my favorite pizza joint into a daycare center just about any weekend afternoon.
Maybe you're a responsible parent. Maybe you're capable of enduring the demands of child rearing. Maybe you're not the kind of jackass that lets their kids turn restaurants/stores into playgrounds so you can get some respite from the fruits of your loins.
But there are a LOT of parents like that, and a great many of them come to Jamison Square. And then because the tots are now hungry and the parents can't quite let go of this illusion of autonomy and maybe some adult company, they descend on a local eatery to annoy the staff and other customers with their spastic, runny nosed demons.
I hate this park.
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San Diego take note. This is what an "Urban Park" should look and feel like.
This was one of our favorite spots to relax in the Pearl on our visit. We were cracking up at the little kids, running into the tide pool, fully clothed, not caring if the water was freezing, the street car passing by every few minutes on both sides of the park, and the locals hanging out at Sips or Fenouil, taking the scene in.
What a great space!
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They should close down Jamison Square immediately, lest it cause more Californians to drop everything and move to Portland...
After spending about 45 minutes there around dusk on a warm Monday, knowing it was our last night in Portland, and getting ready to drive back to SF the next day, I felt strong pangs of longing to stay. Jamison Square represents so many of the great things about Portland. The streetcar rumbles past, signifying the real promise of public transportation when done right (try it in SF to appreciate the difference). The park was clean, and the mix of ages/genders/races/classes using the square was quite diverse, like Portland itself. The water feature could have been blocked by fearful officials (what if a child slips and falls?) but it was not, and it was a hit for kids from about 10 months to 14 years old.
Sigh. Well done, Portland. The City That Works indeed...
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My doggy kinda grew up here. It's not a dog park, but it is the nearest park to where i used to live, and everybody would bring their dogs there. My pooch annabelle saw her first snow here, and had her first crush, and won "wettest dog" two times in a row when they had their annual doggie fair...sigh. i miss portland.
But anyway...this park would get crazy full of people in the summer when it would get super hot. parents would bring their kids to play in the fountain, and it was kind of awful the way people behaved when they got a little sweaty. It was painful to see how people acted like the dogs were so bad, then would let their kids run around like nuts and go to the bathroom in the water. We wouldn't come here much in the summer-time, 'cept at night when the nasty parents were gone.
And at night, when the city's quiet and you can hear the streetcar in the distance, what a pretty little park it is.
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Great park with a tidal fountain - great for kids and dogs. Plus a wonderful boardwalk and area for boce ball. I think this park is one of the best in Portland.
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Puppies and babies and water!!! Oh my!!
I love this place.
It used to be a big empty lot.
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Well designed and easy to love. I took my three sons there by streetcar a few days ago. They are all 5 years and under. They loved the train ride, they loved the water fountain and getting wet and they love the play room at Sip and Kranz next door. Smart tree planting means spots for shade and picnics.
Warning though! On hot weekend days the water feature can get CRAZY busy and if you have very little ones you'll want to be prepared to get wet with them to keep them safe. PDX rocked this one out of the park as parks go.
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I LOVE going to Jamison Square for so many reasons. If you haven't experienced this park yet, there is so much to see...
~First Thursday Summer Concerts
~Darling little kiddies splashing in the water feature
~Summertime outdoor BBQ
~Fenouil outdoor patio where you can sip drinks at the Square
~Holiday Christmas tree that lights up the park like a picture right out
of a Norman Rockwell painting
The entire Square is an upscale urban scene that is a great way to spend an afternoon or an evening. Hop on the street car and get off at Jamison Square and you will be in the heart of everything.
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My absolute favorite urban park in the world. It's well designed, sure, but the place just makes me happy for some reason. One of the few parks where I never hear parents or kids screaming at each other - possibly everyone else is happy there too? Anyway, I think perfect Portland summer day and I think Jamison Square. Smack dab in the middle of the Pearl, easy to get to by street car, splashy stepped water feature for the under-5 set, petanque court, decent public art, grassy picnic area shaded by trees, plentiful benches and trash cans, hot-dog cart on one end, Hot Lips across the street, Sip & Kranz on the other side. Bring a picnic blanket by 11 or so to make sure you can get a shady spot under a tree. Watch the Pearl-ites walk their little dogs around. Watch babies splash in the fountain. Get a slice of pizza. Read a book. Get some sun on those pasty legs. Makes for a pretty nice afternoon in my opinion.
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it's just an open space in the middle of pearl district residential area but it has this genius creature of water fountain thingy that kids can splash and play during the day... so clean and peaceful!!
there are public electricity outlets under the trees around the park, so people just sit there, plug their laptops in, and enjoy wi-fi...
ahhhh.... i wish i could enjoy that every wknd.
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